Programmable barrel weapon

ABSTRACT

A shell-firing barrel weapon system for a single shot, semi-automatic or fully automatic firing, including a rifled barrel comprising a programming member for programming with programming pulses fuses in shells fired from the weapon before or in conjunction with firing of the shells. At least one contact is located in the barrel of the weapon and connected to the programming member for transmitting a programming pulse from the programming member to the fuses of the shells. The at least one contact is electrically insulated from the barrel and protrudes into the barrel beyond bars of rifling of the barrel. An electrically conductive contact ring is concentrically arranged on the shells. The contact ring is electrically insulated from main parts of the shells and has an external diameter that is smaller than a diameter of the bars of the rifling of the barrel. The contact ring is positioned on the shells such that when the shell is located in a cartridge chamber of the weapon the contact ring directly contacts the contact device. Electric feedback of a programming pulse from the programming member takes place via contact between the main parts of the shells and an inside of the barrel of the weapon.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a shell-firing barrel weapon systemprovided with a rifled barrel preferably made of steel or otherelectrically conductive material and designed to fire, as single-shot,semiautomatic or fully automatic fire, explosive-filled shells providedwith programmable electronic fuses.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

For the weapon system in question, it is generally the case that it willinclude a programming member of a known type which, on command,generates electric programming signals which are to be passed onto theshells. Since the programming member, and the type of programmingsignals which it generates are of a type known, these features will notbe described more closely.

The invention instead relates to how the weapon system is to be designedso that it will be possible to supply the electric programming signalsto the electronic fuse function of the shells while the shells arelocated in the cartridge chamber of the weapon inside the barrel wherethey are surrounded by electrically conductive and, in the greatmajority of cases, magnetic material. For effectiveness, it is desirableto program fuses as late as possible which means that this should bedone immediately before, or in conjunction with firing.

Programming the fuse of the shells inside the cartridge chamber istherefore, in theory, the best place if possibility of doing this afterthe shell has left the barrel and is on its way towards the target isdiscounted. EP-A-0300255 and EP-A-0467055 describe how programming canbe carried out with the aid of electromagnetic coils arrangedimmediately outside the mouth of the barrel. For various reasons, thesesolutions have proved to be more difficult to implement in practice thanwas originally theoretically assumed. Then, as far as programmingfurther away from the firing point is concerned, along the actualmissile trajectory, this involves such great technical complicationsthat, although they are by no means insurmountable, they would probablyonly be justified in terms of effectiveness in larger calibers such as10.5 cm and above.

In addition to the alternatives indicated above of programming theshells when they are on the way towards the target, or in the cartridgechamber of the weapon, the current most common method of programming theshells is programming before the shell is supplied to the weapon andalso the procedure which is used in certain automatic pieces in whichthe shell is programmed at the same time as it is transferred from themagazine of the weapon to the cartridge chamber of the weapon.

None of these methods is suitable in weapons which may stand with ashell in the cartridge chamber for long periods without firing. The onlyalternative remaining then is actually to program the fuse of the shellin the cartridge chamber of the weapon or immediately outside thereof.In theory, both these procedures also represent good opportunities forprogramming the detonation range for the shells of the relative shots ina volley.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a solution to the problems indicatedabove. The invention therefore relates to a shell-firing barrel weaponsystem for single-shot, semi-automatic or fully automatic firingprovided with a rifled barrel preferably made of steel. The weaponsystem in question comprises, in addition to usual components such as abarrel, breech block and possibly an ammunition-feeding system,magazine, sights etc., a programming system designed according to theprior art intended to program, by means of electric pulses, theelectronic time fuse which is to form part of the explosive-filledshells which belong to the weapon system. As has already been indicated,the programming system is of a known type per se. The purpose of theprogramming is to provide detonation at the desired range. Theprogramming therefore relates to range/time detonation.

According to the invention, the barrel of the weapon is now to beequipped, for transmitting the programming pulse concerned from theprogramming member of the weapon to the fuse of the shell, with at leastone, and perhaps, to ensure good contact, preferably three, contactdevices or pins which are electrically connected to the programmingmember. Such devices or pins may be incorporated into the barrel wall ofthe weapon and electrically insulated from this. Also these may protrudeinto the barrel a little beyond the bars of the rifling of the barrelwhile the respective shells have an electrically conductive contact ringor contact band which is arranged concentrically, let into the shellbody, electrically insulated from the main part of the shell and whichhas an external diameter which is slightly smaller than the diameter ofthe bars of the rifling of the barrel. The above contact ring or bandmay be positioned in such a manner on the respective shell, that whenthe shell is located in the cartridge chamber of the weapon, the ringlies in direct contact with the contact pin, and the electric feedbackof the programming pulse takes place via contact between the main partof the shell and the inside of the barrel.

In order to ensure feedback between shell and barrel, the shell body canmoreover be provided with a rim or collar in the form of a ring made ofan easily deformed electrically conductive material, such as copper oraluminium, which has a diameter slightly greater than the minimumdiameter of the barrel at the level of the cartridge chamber. As resultof this it will be deformed when the shell is rammed home in thecartridge chamber and consequently give rise to a play-free electricconnection against the barrel material.

A further advantage of the direct connection which is obtained accordingto the present invention is that primary charging and top-up charging ofthe capacitors included in the electronic fuses of the shells can becarried out via the same channels that are used for programming thefuses. Even if primary charging of the capacitors is carried out beforethe shells are supplied to the cartridge chamber, top-up charging cantake place later in the cartridge chamber.

The shell-firing barrel weapon system according to the invention willnow be explained in greater detail in conjunction with the attachedfigures.

These figures relate to an example of how the invention can be used in aso-called shell sprayer which is a fully automatic barrel weapon whichfires explosive-filled shells. The invention is not, however, restrictedto use in this type of weapon alone but can be used within the entirearea which has been defined in the patent claims. The figures show onlythose parts of the weapon system (shell sprayer) concerned which arenecessary to understand the invention. The remaining parts of the weaponare conventional.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a partly sectioned longitudinal projection of the shell inquestion, in which the upper half of the figure shows the shell as apart of the complete shot for a shell sprayer introduced into thecartridge chamber of the weapon in question and the lower half of thefigure shows the same complete shot before it has been rammed home inthe cartridge chamber; and

FIG. 2 shows an enlargement of the area circled in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Corresponding parts have the same reference numbers in both figures.

The complete shot 1 in FIG. 1 comprises a casing 2 and anexplosive-filled shell 3. The latter is provided with a thrust band 4made of copper or plastic and its rear, largely explosive-filled part 5made of metal while its front outer casing or cover 6 is made ofplastic. In the example shown, this front outer casing is assumed tocontain the electronic functions of the shell, that is the fuse functionof the shell, here indicated generally as 7, and also a mechanicalsafety arrangement 8. As both the fuse function 7 and the safetyarrangement 8, are of known constructions, they will not be discussed ingreater detail in this connection.

In the embodiment shown in the figure, the cover 6 which covers theelectronic fuse function 7 is made of plastic, as a result of which ithas been possible for an electrically conductive contact band 9 made ofcopper for example, which is designed according to the invention andarranged around the cover 6, to be let directly into the cover 6. As canalso be seen in FIG. 2, the contact band 9 lies so deeply in the cover 6that it will never be touched by the bars 10 of the barrel rifling inthe barrel 11, in the cartridge chamber 12 of which the complete shot 1is shown in the rammed-home position in the upper part of FIG. 1. Atleast one contact pin 13 is also partially let into the barrel 11. Thecontact pin 13 is otherwise electrically insulated in relation to thebarrel by means of the insulation 14. Furthermore, the contact pin(contact pins) 13 is (are) arranged at the level of the position whichthe contact band 9 of the shells arrives in when the shells are rammedhome in the cartridge chamber 12. A further characteristic of thecontact pin (contact pins) 13 is that they protrude so far into thebarrel that, with an adequate margin, they make good electric contactwith the contact band 9 of the respective shell. Often, it may beappropriate, for ensuring good contact, to arrange three or more contactpins uniformly distributed around the periphery of the barrel. Intheory, however, one would be enough.

The contact band 9 is connected to the programmable electronic fusefunction 7 via the indicated connection 15 while the contact pin 13 isin turn connected via the cable 16 to the electronic programming unit 17forming part of the weapon. The feedback between the programming unit17, and the programmable electronic fuse function 7 of the shell, goesvia the cable 18 to the barrel 11, and also from there to the metalshell casing 5 and back to the fuse function 7. The electrical contactbetween the inside of the barrel and the shell casing has been ensuredby a thin collar-shaped contact plate 19, which has a diameter greaterthan the inside of the cartridge chamber 12, having been mounted in agroove in the shell body. When the shell is rammed home in the cartridgechamber, this contact plate 19, which is made of an easily deformedelectrically conductive material, for example copper or aluminium, willbe deformed exactly as much as required for the shell to be rammed home,and good contact is then achieved against the inside of the barrel. Thefeedback from the shell body 3 to the fuse function 7 has been indicatedby the connection 20. In is the example shown in the figures, thiscontact plate 19 is clamped in a joint between the explosive-filledmetal casing 5 of the shell and its front cover 6. In the lower part ofFIG. 1, the contact plate is shown in its original, undeformed state.

With the arrangement shown in the figures, electric contact is thereforeguaranteed in all situations between the electronic programming unit 17and the programmable electronic fuse function 7 of the shell, as aresult of which the latter is always ready, immediately before or inconjunction with firing of the shell, to receive a programming signalwhich contains information about the desired detonation range and/ordetonation height. This is so that the maximum possible effect on thetarget can always be achieved. The programming unit can advantageouslybe connected to a sight and range-determining unit.

The same contact functions as described above for transmittingprogramming signals can also be used for supplying a charge or top-upcharging voltage to capacitors included in the fuse function 7.

What is claimed is:
 1. A shell-firing barrel weapon system for a single shot, semi-automatic or fully automatic firing, including a rifled barrel comprising a programming member for programming with programming pulses fuses in shells fired from the weapon before or in conjunction with firing of the shells, the system comprising:at least one contact in the barrel of the weapon and connected to the programming member for transmitting a programming pulse from the programming member to the fuses of the shells, the at least one contact being electrically insulated from the barrel and protruding into the barrel beyond bars of rifling of the barrel; and an electrically conductive contact ring concentrically arranged on the shells, the contact ring being electrically insulated from main parts of the shells and having an external diameter that is smaller than a diameter of the bars of the rifling of the barrel, the contact ring being positioned on the shells such that when the shell is located in a cartridge chamber of the weapon the contact ring directly contacts the contact device, and electric feedback of a programming pulse from the programming member takes place via contact between the main parts of the shells and an inside of the barrel of the weapon.
 2. The shell-firing barrel weapon system according to claim 1, wherein the programming member sets a detonation time and detonation range of the shells.
 3. The shell-firing barrel weapon system according to claim 1, wherein the programming member sets a detonation time of the shells.
 4. The shell-firing barrel weapon system according to claim 1, wherein the programming member sets a detonation range of the shells.
 5. The shell-firing barrel weapon system according to claim 1, wherein the contact device is a pin.
 6. The shell-firing barrel weapon system according to claim 1, wherein the barrel is made of steel.
 7. The shell-firing barrel weapon system according to claim 1, further comprising:a contact included on the shells, the contact comprising a thin easily deformed electrically conductive material that protrudes beyond an external profile of the shells and has a greater diameter than an internal profile of the barrel in the cartridge chamber, as a result of its shape the contact is deformed when the shells are rammed home in the cartridge chamber, thereby safeguarding against plat feedback of the programming pulse back to material of the barrel.
 8. The shell-firing barrel weapon system according to claim 7, wherein the contact comprises a contact plate or contact collar.
 9. The shell-firing barrel weapon system according to claim 1, wherein the fuse comprises capacitors that are charged up before the shells are introduced into the cartridge chamber.
 10. The shell-firing barrel weapon system according to claim 9, wherein the capacitors are top-up charged using a connection via the contact and material of the main parts of the shells when the shell is kept in a loaded position in the weapon for long periods without firing.
 11. The shell-firing barrel weapon system according to claim 1, wherein programming of the fuse takes place immediately before or in conjunction with firing of the weapon.
 12. A method for programming shells fired from a shell-firing barrel weapon system for single shot, semi-automatic, or fully automatic firing, wherein the weapon system comprises a rifled barrel and a programming member for programming with programming pulses fuses in shells fired from the weapon before or in conjunction with firing of the shells, the method comprising:transmitting the programming pulses to the fuses of the shells through at least one contact device in the barrel of the weapon and connected to the programming member and through an electrically conductive contact ring concentrically arranged on the shells, the at least one contact device being insulated from the barrel and protruding into the barrel beyond bars of the rifling of the barrel, the contact ring being electrically insulated from main parts of the shells and having an external diameter that is smaller than a diameter of the bars of the rifling of the barrel, the contact ring being positioned on the shells such that when the shell is located in a cartridge chamber of the weapon the contact ring directly contacts the contact device, electric feedback of a programming pulse from the programming member takes place via contact between the main parts of the shells and an inside of the barrel of the weapon. 